One Night with a Cowboy - Sara Richardson Page 0,135
wasn’t about to blurt out something that would no doubt end up on the front page of the Big Verde News the next day, but what she saw was a blushing eleven-year-old. Blushing!
“I’m Hope,” she said, taking JD’s hand.
Well, JD was very handsome. The two of them shook hands and simultaneously charmed the heck out of each other while Carmen touched up her lipstick.
“You know,” JD said, “we have a place here in Big Verde called Hope House. Since it practically has your name on it, I think you should stop by and check it out before you leave. My sister teaches cooking classes there, and she has a little boy named Dalton.”
“Cooking!” Hope said, clapping her hands.
“She loves to cook,” Carmen said. “In fact, she’s one of the best chefs at La Casa Bleu.”
That wasn’t quite true. Hope loved to be in the kitchen, but in a place like La Casa Bleu, the pace was frantic. She could never be in there during the chaotic dinner rush. However, she loved repetitive tasks and was a stickler for details. The pastry chef adored her, and nobody could put a cherry on top like Hope.
“I knew it!” JD said. “You’re Carmen Foraccio, aren’t you?”
“Guilty as charged,” Carmen said. “And I assume you went to school with Jessica?”
“High school heartthrob,” Jessica said.
Carmen fluttered her eyelashes. “No doubt.”
“Man, I love your show,” JD sputtered, taking off his hat as a sign of respect. “Gosh, I watch it all the time.”
It was weird to think of JD watching cooking shows, and even weirder to see him acting starstruck. Although, if the blush on Carmen’s cheeks was any indication, she was equally dazzled.
“Should we go to the hospital?” Jessica asked. Because hello! Casey was hurt!
Jessica hated to drag Hope away from the rodeo. She’d been having so much fun up until the time Casey fell off his horse. “Carmen, do you guys want to stay here? I’m sure I can catch a ride with JD.”
Two cowboys walked up. The pockets on their shirts said RANCHO CAÑADA VERDE. These were real working cowboys, as Rancho Cañada Verde was one of the few cattle ranches in Texas that still managed cattle on horseback. Its cowboys had been sweeping the rodeo without even trying.
“JD, we feel honored to have been here to witness Casey riding a horse for the very first time,” one of them said.
Both cowboys laughed and then followed it up with a high five. They looked nearly identical. They had to be twins.
“Shut up, guys. He just had some kind of—”
“Spasm? Conniption fit?” the other cowboy said, with a smirk that bordered on full-out grin.
“Ladies,” JD said, “these irreverent jerks are Beau and Bryce Montgomery.”
Both cowboys removed their hats. “Ah,” one of them said, gazing at the three of them with his blue eyes.
“We get it now,” said the other.
“Pardon?” JD asked.
“It was a woman.”
“Yep.”
One brother looked at the other. “The question is…”
“Which woman?”
Jessica’s cheeks grew warm, no matter how hard she willed them not to. Beau or Bryce—she had no idea which one—winked at her. “Bingo.”
* * *
Casey looked at Dr. Martin. “Happy now?”
The X-rays had shown nothing was broken. Casey’s back was in a damn spasm and his ribs were bruised, but that was it. And he’d been carried out of the arena on a stretcher while every cowboy within a ten-mile radius had laughed his ass off.
They’d never have laughed over a serious injury. During his bull riding days, Casey had seen guys get their necks broken. He’d seen ropers lose their thumbs. He’d seen a man tossed into the air by a bull who seemed to think he was a rag doll.
But he’d never seen a man just fall off his horse for no good reason.
Except there had been a reason. He’d seen his whole damn world watching him from the fence and the realization had momentarily tilted the universe.
“I’m happy that you’re not mortally wounded,” Dr. Martin said. “Unless you’re planning to die of embarrassment, that is.”
Casey gave him the side-eye. Partly because he deserved it, but mostly because he couldn’t turn his head.
“You’ll need to take it easy for the next few days. I’ll give you some muscle relaxants—”
Casey waved his hand dismissively, but the movement made him wince.
“And you should stick to the bed or recliner.”
Like that was gonna happen.
“And avoid reading. You might have a slight concussion.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
Casey got down from the exam table gingerly. He’d been